Pentax K20D is a new digital SLR with live view, 14.6 Megapixel sensor, weatherproof body and other very competitive features, and all that for a very reasonable price.
Introduction:
It would seem that the Pentax K20D is aimed at advanced amateurs. It has plenty of dedicated buttons and customizable features, and the live view. It does not have a movie mode, but hardly any DSLR has it. The camera features 2.7-inch LCD, supports practically any Pentax lens ever made and has two different RAW formats.
Pentax K20D pros:
+ Support for two RAW formats
+ Full manual controls
+ Very good photo quality
+ Good value for the money
+ Very well built, weatherproof body
+ Image stabilization system works with all Pentax lenses
+ Hot shoe and flash sync port; built-in wireless flash support
+ Dust reduction system + handy dust alert feature
+ Optional battery grip
+ Remote capture software included
+ Unique sensitivity (Sv) and shutter/aperture priority (TAv) modes
Pentax K20D cons:
- Consistently underexposes
- A little noisy in low light
- Live view lags behind the competition;
- Below average battery life
- Burst rate not as fast as other D-SLRs
- Outdated user interface
The design:
Pentax K20D measures 5.6×4.0×2.76 in. and weighs 1.87 lb with battery and SD memory card. It is made of very high quality materials: stainless steel and ‘fiber-reinforced polycarbonate’ so it is extremely durable, and thanks to its over seventy seals it is also weatherproof. Although you do not get any lens in the box with the Pentax K20D body the company engineers decided to build into the body the sensor-shift image stabilization system. It means that the image stabilization will work with any lens you will use the Pentax K20D with. Above the lens mount is the pop-up flash released manually which can aid focusing in low light. At the back of the camera is the 2.7” LCD display and a bunch of dedicated keys. So you get the function button, on.off switch for the image stabilizer, the four way controller surrounded by the focus mode dial. At the bottom of Pentax K20D is the tripod mount, battery compartment, as well as the connector for the battery grip.
Performance:
Pentax K20D has very good start-up times. Of course, the time it takes to start the camera depends on whether you have chosen the ‘shake off’ setting at startup, but even if you have the Pentax K20D will be ready in less than a second. Without the ‘shake off’ it is ready instantly. The Pentax K20D is also very quick when it comes to focusing. What was not so good about the camera is the relatively poor battery life, which is about 15-20% worse than the competition.
When it comes to the image quality, the Pentax K20D DLSR does a good job. As manual settings allow you to adjust everything to get a perfect shot you can achieve truly amazing results. The colors are well saturate, the detail level is in most cases very good (at higher ISO it drops noticeably), the images are vivid and sharp. The K20D does a good job keeping noise levels low in good light, though it could be better in low light situations. Additionally, the camera has some special effects that you do not usually see in DSLRs, such as black & white and sepia conversion, color extraction, high dynamic range effects and 18 virtual color filters. All in all, the image quality achieved with the Pentax K20D is very good and can indeed compete with some other, more expensive digital cameras.
Menus / ease of use:
Digital SLRs are not the easiest cameras to handle so manufacturers provide users with elaborate manuals so as to make it easier for users to grasp what the various settings might influence. This is also the case with the Pentax K20D which has a very good manual with plenty of illustrations and good hints. With that and a few hours with the camera itself it should not be too difficult to learn your way with the Pentax K20D. The menu system itself is not very complex although the interface seems too old fashioned. One thing that may annoy some of the Pentax K20D users is the fact that when you press the OK key in any menu level it automatically accepts the setting and returns to the live view. I’d rather it returned the the previous menu in case you want to change something else, but apart from that the menus are fine.
Key Pentax K20D features and specifications:
Type:
- Auto-exposure digital SLR still camera with TTL auto focus, built-in retractable P-TTL auto flash, CCD shift shake reduction, dust reduction, dust alert and weather/dust resistant body
Sensor:
- CMOS with primary color filter and integrated shake/dust reduction sensor movement system
- 14.6 megapixels
- 8 bits/channel (JPEG) or 12 bit/channels (RAW)
Resolution (Recorded Pixels):
- 14.6M (4672×3120), 10M (3872×2592), 6M (3008×2000), 2M (1824×1216)
ISO Sensitivity:
- Auto 100-3200 (6400) ISO (1, 1/2, 1/3 steps) (6400 in Expanded ISO mode)
- Bulb up to 3200
- Manual 100-3200 (6400) ISO (1, 1/2, 1/3 steps) (6400 in Expanded ISO mode)
File Formats:
- JPEG (Exif 2.21), RAW (PEF, DNG), DCF 2.0 (design rule for camera file system)
- DPOF (Digital Print Order Format)
- PRINT Image Matching III
Lens Mount:
- PENTAX KAF2 bayonet stainless steel mount compatible with PENTAX KAF2, KAF AND KA mount lenses
- Power zoom function, SDM function
- K-mount lenses usable with restrictions
- S-mount lenses usable with adapter and with restrictions
- 67/645 lenses usable with adapter and with restrictions.
Focusing System:
- TTL phase-matching 11-point autofocus system (SAFOX VIII)
- AF Single (with focus lock), AF Continuous, Manual
- Focus point adjustment (auto, user-selectable, center)
AF assist via built-in flash
Exposure Control:
- TTL open-aperture metering with choice of 16-segment, Center-weighted and Spot metering
Other recently reviewed digital cameras:
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T77, Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1, Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ28, Nikon D90, Canon PowerShot G10, Samsung TL34HD.